Stepping Stones
by haylorlove1989
Summary: A Harry Styles and Taylor Swift Story. Events, relationships and encounters happen for a reason. Some turn out for the worst, some for the best. The ones that are for the best lead you on a road to happiness. For Taylor Swift and Harry Styles, these things are their stepping stones on the path towards their happily ever after.
1. Stepping Stones

It was one of those rare moments on tour when he had time to himself. There was no rehearsals, no planes to catch or moving to and from hotels. The first day, since Zayn left, that wasn't chaotic.  
Harry sat in his hotel room, TV playing in the distance with phone in hand. He replied to text messages he had received during the night then went over to twitter. Scrolling through the twitter feed he read various messages to him and tweets from people he followed until he came across a retweeted picture. Harry opened it to reveal a picture of Taylor, hands intertwined with Calvin Harris's in L.A. He examined the smile across her face, a genuine and happy one. One he hadn't seen in a long time. Quickly closing the app, he typed _"Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris"_ into Google with various gossip sites appearing, all having the same photos. He noticed how the DJ made her happy, which in turn, made him happy.

Taylor had wished him the best during his so-called _"relationships"_ with various people, so he could only do the same. Three years had passed since they were together. Three years of longing and trying to fill the Taylor shaped void in his heart. During his relationships Harry never thought of what the future might hold but with Taylor it was different. He's had various dreams of the two, living in a large house in Nashville with a white picket fence, writing music together and raising kids. He remembered when they started while they dating and continued during the relationships after her. Harry had tried constantly to picture another woman in Taylors place, but knew it was impossible.

Staring at the photo, he flashed back to various conversations they had during and after their relationship. Their conversations about the future and the past would lead to overwhelming feelings, a kiss or two and then acting like the last part never happened. He knew deep down that Taylor was his future. They were destined to be together and when the time came, it would happen. The relationships in-between were the stepping-stones on the path that would eventually lead them back to one another.  
Harry knew that Taylor felt the same way. Both being songwriters, lyrics said more than a person could ever say. From the hidden messages in between to not being able to say what they felt face-to-face. The lyric "_You know for me, it's always you,"_ played repeatedly in his mind.  
One day, maybe someday soon or a day two years from now, they would be the ones photographed, holding hands and taking on the world together.


	2. Left Hanging?

Everyone has his or hers way of dealing from a break up. Some find solace in other people; others find comfort in food and friends. Taylor Swift however did none of that.  
A month into her world wind 1989 tour she became single. Both her and Calvin blamed the failed relationship on their busy schedules and jet setting to the other side of the world. It was a very common reason most relationships didn't work for most people in the music industry. Taylor had been too busy and distracted by the tour that she hadn't dealt with the loss of the DJ. Sure, they weren't together long, but it still meant something to her, like any relationship she had. So there she was, sitting in a club with various friends. Their attempt to kick start Taylor's moving on.

After the tour Taylor had returned home to her Tribeca apartment and two cats when her feelings hit her like a ton of bricks. She noticed that she hadn't done her usual break up routine. Hate and miss them, write a song or two and then miss them some more and hate them again. Not having the daily distraction of performing, Taylor moped and marathon watched her favorite TV shows while eating ice cream and chocolate with both her cats next to her. After doing the same thing for a week, her friends finally intervened. They came over and dragged her out of her apartment to have some fun.  
Sitting down near the bar, drink in hand, Taylor watched her friends dance despite various attempts from Selena to get up and join her. She looked down at the martini in her hand and wallowed in her sadness. The singer was sad for two reasons,

1\. The break up between her and Calvin

2\. She blamed it on the tour and distance but deep down she knew it wasn't true.

Taylor knew that the relationship didn't work out due to her lingering feelings for a certain person in her life. Even though it was close to four years that they broke up, she never really got over him. He constantly floated in and out of her life and the times they were together, her feelings intensifying each time. It had gotten to a stage where each time he left, she felt like her and the One Direction member broke up all over again, despite not even being together.  
Her thoughts of him continued until she was pulled into reality by her phone vibrating. Taylor searched her bag and saw it was a message. Harry had sent her a message saying he was in town and wanted to see if she was available for a catch up. She stared at the screen and looked up in the direction of her friends. Taylor noticed that both Selena and Karlie's boyfriends had shown up and saw how the two couples interacted. She noticed the smile on her best friends face had grown even wider just being in the presence of the man she loved. Taylor so desperately wanted that in her life and this time, she was going to get it. She quickly typed a response asking where he was staying in the city. Waiting for his reply, she quickly downed the drink and left her dancing friends. Once Harry told her where he was, she quickly hopped in the car and told her driver the address.

Taylor was sober enough to remember what she was about to do but also was drunk enough to have the up to the back entrance of the hotel she quickly got out of the car and opened the hotel door. Entering the elevator and watching the doors close Taylor suddenly felt nervous. Millions of thoughts ran through her head, "_Should I be doing this?", "What if he rejects me?", "What if I lose this friendship we built over my half drunk actions?"_ Before she could come up with the answers, the silver doors opened on Harry's floor. Taking a deep breath, Taylor made the journey from the elevator to his room. Knocking three times she stood there waiting at the door. It felt as if Harry was taking hours to open the door to Taylor and she felt her courage slowly dwindling. Getting ready to turn back and leave, the door opened, revealing a white t-shirt and sweat-pant wearing Harry. Dressed so casually he still managed to take Taylor's breath away.  
_"Hello love,"_ he greeted her with his arm against the door frame and a smile on his face,_ "come on in." _He moved aside to let Taylor pass and Harry closed the door behind her. Harry's eyes followed her exposed legs up to her to face and stared at her in awe. To Harry, she got more beautiful every single day. It was something he repeatedly wanted to tell her but knew he shouldn't due to fear of risking everything they had built. Before Harry got the chance to speak, Taylor quickly turned around and faced him making her dress slightly bubble by the quick movement. _"I have to tell you something Harry. Will you promise me that you won't speak till after I'm done talking?"_ she asked. Harry saw the seriousness in Taylor's eyes and quickly nodded his head before he looked down to the ground. She took a deep breath before blurting out _"I love you Harry."_ When the words escaped her mouth, Harry's head quickly shot up. _"Not like brotherly love but love, love. I can't stop loving you. I never have and I know I never will. I've tried to move on. I truly have but when I'm just about to you come back into my life and invade my every thought. This past week I've been trying to invent excuse after excuse as to why Calvin and I didn't work out because I didn't want to face the truth." _Taylor said, tears starting to make their way down her face. _"The truth is I love you Harry Styles. No matter what you do and no matter where you are. You're the person that I think about when I wake up and when I go to bed. The person I want to tell first when something fantastic or horrible happens. I love you.," _the tears continued streaming down her face while Harry stood there near the door in silence.

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was something he had waited to hear for a long time, picturing in his head different scenarios of when and where it would happen. He never saw it happening this way. Close to 2 am, in New York City, with, what he thought to be, a slightly drunk Taylor. More than once, he thought about the moment when the two would reunite. All those times, he had a response prepared and imagined that it was him telling her how he felt first than the other way around. Now that it was happening in real life, his brain completely froze. Standing there, staring at the girl he loved, in silence, as he had no idea how to form a sentence. To Taylor, the minute of silence felt as if hours had passed. Her heart felt as if someone was slowly ripping it out from her chest.  
Taking Harry's silence as a bad sign, quickly wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, _"I shouldn't have come here. Just forget I ever said anything.," _she said while pushing past to exit the room. Before Harry could stop her Taylor was out of the room and running towards the stairs. Despite his brain processing the words she spoke, his heart sent signals to his feet to start moving and chase after the girl. Grabbing the room key he sprinted towards the stairway door and opened it yelling her name in hopes she would stop. Looking down he saw she was halfway to the bottom and quickly made his way down, doing his best not to trip. Taylor heard him yelling her name but tried her best to block it out. Each time he called her more tears appeared on her face. She reached the door and quickly walked through, not turning back to see where Harry was and made her way to the hotel exit as fast as she could.

As soon as Taylor's feet reached the Manhattan pavement, she felt two things. She felt the pouring rain hit her skin and drench her within seconds and a hand on her arm spinning her around. She came face to face with a now soaking wet Harry Styles. Using his free hand to move the hair of her face and rested his hand on her cheek. _"Do you know the amount of times I've pictured this moment?" _he asked staring into her blue eyes. _"Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would play out like this. But I'll take it.,"_ he continued with a slight smile on his face. Seeing the confusion in Taylor's eyes he bought her face closer to place a light kiss on her lips. Pulling away, he looked straight into her eyes seeing they had softened after his action. _"I love you Taylor. I always have and I always will. These past couple years as friends have been hard for me because every time I saw you, my love for you kept growing. I never stopped loving you and I didn't show it then but I loved you too. I want nothing more in this world but to be with you. Do you have any idea how many times I wished I could trade everything I have just so I could have you lying in bed next to me? Believe me, there's to many count.,"_ he spoke, with a slight laugh with his forward leaning softly against hers. The rain continued to pour, the two standing there, staring into each other's eyes, soaked to the skin. _"I was young and naïve and was afraid of getting into a serious relationship as I had never been in one before. I was afraid of hurting you, which I ended up doing. I'm sorry for what I did to you and I promise to never do it again Tay. Will you give us another shot at happiness?"_ Harry asked the question with his eyes closed. Too scared that she may say no despite her earlier confession. Taylor answered by wrapping her arms around his neck and kissed him. It was the type of kiss that felt like time stood still and felt like the world has melted away. Harry deepened the kiss slightly only to break apart when the sound of lightning struck. Looking down to notice how drenched both he and Taylor were, he laughed at how cliché their moment had become. Taylor noticing the same, she began to laugh with him,_ "Let's go inside love. Before we both get sick." _Taylor grabbed his hand and followed him back into the building. Making their journey she reminded her self to thank her friends for taking her out. If they hadn't, she wouldn't be standing in an elevator, hand in hand with the man she loved.


	3. Love, Courage & Strength

Sitting on her bed, cross-legged, thumb hovering over the _post _button on her phone, Taylor's mind continued to debate whether or not to tap the blue writing. For the past few days the singer went from wanting to tell the world about her relationship and then wanting to keep it a secret forever in the matter of minutes. Taylor hated keeping secrets from her fans, which was something that pained her. Having spent past year lying to the people who were always there for her, the people she had inside jokes with and the people she always gave advice to, made her only want to tell them more. Taylor knew she wasn't scared about the reaction she'd receive from her_ "Swifties"_, she was more frightened by what the One Direction fans would say. Sure, they had matured over the years, realizing the hate that partially caused Harry and I to break up the first time was wrong and how they sent prayers for her mom when she was diagnosed with cancer, but she was still afraid.

A year had passed since the day Taylor and Harry had their epic moment in the rain, a memory that always bought a smile to both their faces. The pair had kept their relationship secret surprisingly well. It consisted of a lot of phone calls, texts, Skype and Facetime calls whenever they had the chance. Spending weeks apart also came with the relationship package however they made time to see each other any chance they got. It consisted of spending time locked up in apartments, houses and hotel rooms with taking extreme caution not to be seen together or in the same city. Seven months in they had the routine down to a T, posting photos that had been previously taken, saying they were in one city when they were in another. Charting private jets to foreign countries and wearing disguises while moving from place to place. The pair enjoyed the thrill of getting caught by sometimes it felt draining. The secrets, the lies and the running were becoming too much for them to handle so they felt it was time to tell the truth, especially now that Harry was preparing to go on tour again.  
Taylor felt like she was contradicting herself. A part of her didn't want people to know however she was the one who suggested they reveal themselves to the world. They both spent a long time figuring out what they were going to say and do. It went from Facebook posts, to joint statements or stepping out into the open again for everyone to see. It was then that Taylor came up of the idea for using tumblr. A place she felt safe from ridicule and nasty comments.

Still sitting on the bed looking down at her phone, Taylor felt the bed dip before a meow came from beside her. Prying her eyes away from the device she saw Olivia sitting next to her before she started to brush against her arm. Sitting the white feline in her lap, Taylor saved the pending post to her drafts and continued to scroll down her dashboard. Her eyes were greeted to posts about fan stories, herself and all the random things that people would re-blog. It was then that she saw a quote that got her attention, "_Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."  
_Re-reading the words over and over, Taylor took the time to fully grasp and comprehend the quote before a smile came on her face. Taking a quick screen shot, she sent it to Harry, who was doing interviews with the boys, with the words "_I'm going to post it."_ Finding the post she had saved earlier, Taylor quickly touched the post button and closed the app before locking her phone. Taking a deep breath, she left her mobile on the bed and took Olivia with her into kitchen. Waiting to see the fans reactions until she was with Harry again later that night. Taylor instantly knew the fans would freak out by the black and white photo that consisted of a view of Harry's chin down to the swallows on his chest, coffee cup grasped in hand with his rings in full view, the caption reading _"I fell in love with a beautiful boy and you still take my breath away."_

Across town, Harry sat on a couch next to Niall, finally having a chance to check his phone before their next interview began. He saw a text from Taylor followed by twitter notifications and comments on past photos. Opening the message from his girlfriend, he read the quote and message before switching to instagram. Clicking the upload button, without hesitation, Harry posted a coloured photo of Taylor, sitting on her New York apartment floor with her legs extended wearing red lipstick and his Green Bay Packers hoodie with her head thrown back laughing. The words "_These hands had to let it go free and this love came back to me" _situated under it. Looking his phone, he placed it back into his pocket before a new round of interviews began.  
They both knew that announcing their relationship was the next big step for them. The two promised each other that they wouldn't let fans or the media get in the way of their happiness this time around. They also knew that they were able to spend more time out in the open, no need to hide out in hotel rooms and wear disguises. They were free to be themselves out in the open. Taylor was happy that she was able to tweet the bad jokes Harry would tell her daily and post the photos of him being smothered by both Meredith and Olivia. He was excited to do the same. To post the photos of Taylor baking and the quirks that he loved. The step that they had just taken was another stepping stone on their road to forever.


	4. Someday, Maybe

Harry remembered the day as if it had only happened yesterday. It was a day filled with more pain and heartache than he had ever experienced before, and knew would never forget. Seeing the woman he still deeply cared for and loved with someone else's arm wrapped around her waist, sitting side by side, pained him.  
It was the boy's first official awards appearance without Zayn and had taken home two awards. It should've been a night of happiness and celebration, but for Harry it wasn't. It was a night of pure torture as he watched Taylor from afar. Laughing and dancing with her girlfriends, hugging and chatting to fans and receiving congratulatory hugs and words from her boyfriend Calvin. He had tried his hardest to be happy for her as she was with Nadine and Paige. The two were close friends despite the past between the two, but the dynamic had definitely changed when Calvin came into the picture. Their visits had become less frequent as did their texts and calls even when they were in the same city. Harry, of course, knew why it had happened as Taylor didn't want to cause friction so early in her new relationship by talking to an ex boyfriend despite him being a really good friend. He knew that it would be wrong of him to approach her and say hello or receive one of those hugs he enjoyed so much while her current boyfriend was so close by. So for the entire night Harry watched from the other side of the MGM Grand. He did his best to avoid staring at the area in which they were sitting and admiring her beauty, however she made it quite hard for him having won so many awards. He would clap and cheer for her success, knowing how hard she worked to achieve her goals and dreams. Harry watched her current boyfriend, through the corner of his eye, hug her each time she won an award. Every time he pictured himself as the one seated next to her, placing a kiss on her cheek while he and Ed cheered the loudest for her. It hurt him even more that they never got to experience an award show together as her and Calvin was that night. Harry respected Taylor even more as she was no longer afraid and cared for what the media would say about her relationships. She was no longer scared or frightened to face the world, hand in hand, with her boyfriend, fully knowing her fans would always support her no matter what or whom she chose.  
Eventually the awards drew to a close while the after parties began in full swing. Too tired from his current cold and heartache from the night, Harry decided to skip the party despite his close friend Ed being one of the hosts. He knew that Calvin and Taylor would kill him even more by flaunting and showing their new love for each other even more now that the camera were no longer following them. Harry sat in his hotel room, dreaming about the night if it had been different. If the two had never broken up by letting the media and fans getting to them or if Harry hadn't been scared to commit to the relationship and hadn't left her while on holiday. If Harry had taken the chance to win her back when they were both single before she found someone else, then maybe he would've have been the one standing next to her. Harry always, and still, believed that the two were meant to be together no matter what had or would happen between them. Before sleep overtook him, he thought that someday, maybe it would be him instead of Calvin.

* * *

There he was, wearing a dark suit with a pale blue shirt and purple tie next to a beautiful woman wearing a matching purple dress that made the blue in her eyes even more extraordinary. Standing with his hand around her waist Taylor looked up at Harry with a smile spread across her perfect face. It seemed like yesterday that Harry was daydreaming of supporting and standing next to Taylor at an award show, and today that was happening. It was their first official appearance as boyfriend and girlfriend after having announced it on tumblr and instagram only a few months ago. Despite being together for over a year, everyday felt like the first day, every _"I love you"_ would still produce butterflies in their stomachs. Harry stared into the blue orbs that were looking up at him. Their eyes met and it felt as if the whole world melted away. It was just the two of them. No other celebrities or press, just them. Leaning in, Taylor placed a quick kiss on his lips, the sound of a million shutter clicks pulled the two out of their daze, releasing the photographers were having a field day from the kiss on camera.  
Heading inside, the two took their seats in the front row next to Ed and Selena. The night was filled with the two dancing in the front row with kisses, hugs and screaming every time Taylor, Harry or one of their friends would win an award. That night during the ceremony, only once did the 2015 Billboard Music Awards slip into his thoughts, thinking how Calvin was once in his place. However, that soon vanished when Taylor's hand found his before he brought it to his mouth and placed a small kiss. He watched her bring out her phone and read all the comments that her fans were saying, showing him a select few. Watching her smile and awe at the posts brought a warm feeling to Harry's being, knowing posts about them were the reason behind it. She put the phone away before looking up and staring into his green eyes that felt as if they saw her soul. Another smile spread across Taylor's face, accompanying the one already on Harry's. There was no need for words to be spoken in the moment as they way the two looked at each other said it all. They both knew that this wouldn't be their last award ceremony together. They knew it was the first of many that would appear in their journey towards forever.


End file.
